Understand what amoebocytes are and learn about their functions. Explore more about endoskeleton, digestion, reproduction, and regeneration in. These cells are found in sponges and are known for their ability to transform into various other cell types. Amoebocytes play a role in sponge regeneration and in transporting food particles throughout the sponge's body. They can also contain pigments that give sponges their color. Amoebocytes in sponges are mobile, totipotent cells located within the mesohyl that perform essential functions such as digestion, nutrient transport, waste removal, and structural support. Depending on the species, an amebocyte may also digest and distribute food, dispose of wastes, form skeletal fibers, fight infections, and change into other cell types. In sponges, amebocytes, also known as archaeocyte s, are cells found in the mesohyl that can transform into any of the animal's more specialized cell types. [1] [2] In echinoderms (starfish, sea urchins) and other invertebrates, amoebocytes serve as the primary immune cells, recognizing and neutralizing foreign bodies and microorganisms. Some amoebae are predatory and live by consuming bacteria and other protists. Some are detritivores and eat dead organic material. Amoebae typically ingest their food by phagocytosis, extending pseudopods to encircle and engulf live prey or particles of scavenged material. They are known to be richly equipped with enzymes and to be capable of intracellular digestion. Those that engulf food particles are commonly called phagocytes. Amoebocytes are classified, particularly in the invertebrates as lymphoidocytes, aiding digestion and trephocytes and aiding excretion. Evidence of the action of the amoebocytes and the participation of different lectins in binding the larvae of the trematode with the amoebocytes (Martins-Souza et al., 2006) can be tested by the technique of cultures of the amoebocyte producing organ (APO) as first described by Barbosa et al. In sponges, amebocytes are totipotent, meaning they can differentiate into other specialized cell types, secrete structural components like spicules or spongin fibers, and facilitate intracellular digestion by transporting nutrients from choanocytes to other cells. Depending on the species, an amebocyte may also digest and distribute food, dispose of wastes, form skeletal fibers, fight infections, and change into other cell types.